This article contains mention and video of violence.
As UBC’s Board of Governors (BoG) met in the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre to approve the university’s 2025/26 budget last Friday, a group of about two-dozen protesters called on the BoG from outside the locked and guarded Alumni Centre to divest from companies they say are complicit in genocide and human rights abuses in Gaza and the West Bank.
This protest was the fourth demonstration in recent weeks pressuring the university to divest. On March 21, an “emergency rally” was held outside the Nest, and on March 24 and 25, a two-day student strike was held following the passage of an AMS referendum question.
A hunger strike for the same cause also took place in the AMS Nest between March 17 and March 31, according to social media posts from organizers.
Estimates of just how much money UBC, through its wholly-owned subsidiary UBC Investment Management (UBCIM), has invested in companies complicit in human rights abuses have ranged from under $10 million to over $100 million, depending on how “complicity” and “has” are defined and which companies are included. Last May, the university said UBCIM “doesn’t directly own” stocks in companies identified by protesters, which accounted for 0.28 per cent of the endowment fund — equivalent to about $7.8 million at the time. The UBC Divest coalition, however, argues the number actually exceeds $113 million.
The market value of UBC endowment assets was $2.4 billion for the 2023/24 fiscal year, according to the most recent UBCIM endowment update. That figure is up just over $200 million from the previous fiscal year, where the market value reached $2.19 billion.
On Friday, protestors met outside the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at 9:30 a.m. and began with chants calling for a free Palestine.
“UBC, you can’t hide. You invest in genocide,” protesters called.
After about 10 minutes, the group moved to the AMS Nest, where they denounced the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) over a loudspeaker for its “investments in apartheid,” criticizing the bank for holding stocks in companies listed in a United Nations database of firms aiding Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
One speaker also mentioned specific companies, including weapons manufacturers Elbit Systems and General Dynamics, in which RBC respectively holds $300,000 and $773 million according to the bank’s Q4 2024 filings with the United States Securities & Exchange Commission.
As protesters approached, RBC employees closed the branch’s shutters.
At around 9:50 a.m., protesters rushed suddenly from the Nest toward the Alumni Centre, attempting to enter as the Board deliberated on the second floor. None were able to get in, so the group assembled outside and sat in separate groups against the Alumni Centre’s various entry points.
Originally, protesters said into a microphone that they had intended to “block every single door” to and from the building, but RCMP officers already inside the locked building instructed each group of protesters to move away from the doors.
“[You can] sit on the side, but you cannot prevent people from leaving the exit,” an officer told protesters.
When an RCMP officer opened the east-facing door from inside the Loafe Cafe to speak to the group gathered, one protester grabbed the door and attempted to hold it open. The RCMP officer pulled the door back, closing it forcefully on a protester’s hand two times, resulting in a visible injury.
“My hand, my hand, sir, my hand!" the protester yelled.
Shortly after the incident, the injured protestor approached Ubyssey reporters and showed their bloodied hand before another protester helped them wrap their cuts with first-aid equipment.
Throughout the demonstration, protesters taped dozens of posters to the glass walls of the Alumni Centre, some displaying the biographies of Palestinians killed by the Israel Defense Forces and some displaying the biographies of members of the BoG “appointed by the colonial provincial government.”
“The people in power have names and faces,” the posters said, also addressing Governors directly: “Divestment is in your hands.”
Around 12:25 p.m., a small group of non-Governors exited the building under the watch of RCMP officers.
In accordance with the Board’s meeting rules, members of the public who register ahead of time are able to attend the open section of Board meetings. However, while not listed on the agenda, BoG meetings frequently conclude with an in-camera session where only verified Board members — and not onlooking members of the public or news media — are allowed to remain.
The protestors, seemingly unaware that the actual Governors were still upstairs, loudly called on those walking out to divest and gathered to conclude their protest.
“Today, we remind UBC: we will not stop until they divest from genocide,” one protester said to the cheers of others.
The protest ended with an organizer reading out a speech at around 12:30 p.m. as the Board of Governors continued its deliberations upstairs.
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